Feature tracking using ultrasound

ABSTRACT

Various implementations of the invention provide techniques and supporting systems that facilitate real-time or near-real-time ultrasound tracking for the purpose of calculating changes in anatomical features during a medical procedure. More specifically, anatomical features within a patient undergoing a medical procedure are tracked by obtaining temporally-distinct three dimensional ultrasound images that include the feature of interest and obtaining a targeted subset of ultrasound images focused on the feature. Based on the targeted subset of ultrasound images, a displacement of the feature is determined and image parameters used to obtain the targeted subset of ultrasound images are adjusted based on the displacement. This results in a time-based sequence of three dimensional images and targeted ultrasound images of the feature that identify changes in the position, size, location, and/or shape of the feature.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 14/702,037, filedMay 1, 2015, which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 12/956,991, filedNov. 30, 2010, which claims priority to and the benefit of U.S.provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/294,294, filed Jan. 12, 2010,and U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/323,064, filed Apr.12, 2010, each entitled “Feature Tracking Using Ultrasound.”

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to methods for tracking features during a medicalprocedure.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

One purpose of radiotherapy is to target a specified anatomical regionsuspected of having either gross or suspected microscopic disease(sometimes referred to as the clinical treatment volume, or “CTV”) withradiation while sparing surrounding healthy tissues and at-risk organs.Typically, a physician outlines the CTV on one or more planning images,such as a computed tomography (CT) image, magnetic resonance (MRI)image, three-dimensional ultrasound (3DUS) image, or a positron emissiontomography (PET) scan. A treatment plan is then developed whichoptimizes the radiation dose distribution on the planning images to bestaccomplish the prescribed goals. The plan may be based on certaintreatment parameters such as beam directions, beam apertures, doselevels, energy and/or type of radiation. The treatment is generallygiven in a finite number of fractions, typically delivered once a day.During treatment, the patient is positioned relative to the radiationbeam prior to each fraction according to the treatment plan.

In practice, a margin is included around the CTV to account foranatomical changes in the CTV and surrounding areas. These changes canresult from either interfractional motion, i.e., anatomical differencesthat develop immediately prior to the current fraction (often due to aninaccurate set-up or actual organ motion such as a different state ofbladder fill), or from intrafractional motion, i.e., anatomical motionwhich occurs during the actual treatment delivery. In some instances,both types of motion may be present. In some instances, intrafractionalmotion may be cyclical, as caused by breathing, or random, as caused bygas or a steadily increasing bladder volume.

Some conventional image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) applications may beused to track interfractional motion. Various imaging modalities may beused to implement IGRT, including three-dimensional ultrasound (3DUS)and x-ray imaging of fiducial “seeds” implanted in a patient's organ.Image capture is typically performed once prior to the radiationdelivery, and the treatment couch is then adjusted to compensate for anychanges in anatomy relative to the treatment plan. The use of IGRT toaccount for intrafractional motion, on the other hand, is in its infancyand requires continuous imaging throughout the treatment. As trends inradiotherapy begin to move towards fewer fractions and longer treatmenttimes, correcting for intrafractional motion is growing in importance.

One method of tracking intrafractional motion uses x-rays to imagefiducials at discrete points in time throughout treatment. However,continuous monitoring is not achievable with this methodology becausethe x-ray imaging exposure is unbearably high, with an image frequencyof 30 seconds being the currently acceptable limit. Such proceduresstill require undesirable extra radiation as well as an invasivefiducial implantation procedure. Further, various surface monitoringtechnologies have been developed for cyclical intrafractional motion,but these do not provide internal information and are not sufficient inmany applications, particularly when random motion occurs. Yet anothertechnology uses beacons which are implanted in the feature of interest,and tracked in real-time using electromagnetic methods. As withfiducials, this procedure also requires an invasive implantationprocedure.

Two-dimensional ultrasound (2DUS) can conceivably be proposed forintrafractional motion detection as it is real-time in nature, does notadd radiation exposure to the patient during the monitoring process, anddoes not require implantation of fiducials. Temporally-spaced 2DUSimages, as well as three-dimensional ultrasound (3DUS) images, have beenproposed to track intrafractional motion during radiotherapy. See, forexample, Xu et al, Med. Phys. 33 (2006), Hsu et al, Med. Phys. 32(2005), Whitmore et al, US 2006/0241143 A1, Fu et al, US 2007/0015991A1, and Bova et al, U.S. Pat. No. 6,390,982 B1. Some of thesedisclosures discuss the use of 3DUS probes to obtain a“four-dimensional” image series, however, there remain many obstacles inobtaining and using these images which are not addressed in the currentliterature.

One conventional three-dimensional (3D) probe utilizes a motorizedtwo-dimensional (2D) probe placed inside a housing that sweepsmechanically within the housing, thus collecting a series oftwo-dimensional slices to cover the three-dimensional volume. Forexample, imaging a 10 cm×10 cm area at a given depth using a resolutionof 0.5 mm, each sweep requires 200 slices. At a framerate of 20 Hz, onesweep takes approximately 10 seconds to complete, which precludeseffective “real-time” four-dimensional imaging (three physicaldimensions changing over time). Moreover, reconstruction of the entirethree-dimensional volume takes at least two seconds which furtherreduces the theoretical three-dimensional refresh rate to 12 seconds,although multi-thread processing may help. Anatomical feature extractionbased on the three-dimensional images is also time consuming andrequires at least an additional five seconds. Aspects of this inventionallow for real-time feature tracking ultrasound imaging during a medicalprocedure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Various implementations of the invention provide techniques andsupporting systems that facilitate real-time or near-real-timeultrasound tracking for the purpose of calculating changes in anatomicalfeatures during a medical procedure. While the methods are primarilydescribed in terms of a radiotherapy fraction, other applications arecontemplated, such as cryotherapy, brachytherapy, high-intensity focusedultrasound (HIFU), as well as imaging procedures such as computedtomography (CT), four-dimensional CT, planar x-ray, PET, MRI, and SPECT,or any other medical procedure where it is important to monitoranatomical features throughout the treatment.

Although primarily concerned with intrafractional motion tracking, insome cases correction for interfractional motion may also be implementedprior to the tracking process. In some cases, a hybrid technique ofacquiring a temporally-spaced combination of three-dimensionalultrasound images and targeted subsets of two-dimensional ultrasoundimages may be used. The two-dimensional ultrasound images are used toincrease the frequency of feature tracking to render the process asclose to real-time as possible.

In a first aspect, a computer-implemented method for tracking ananatomical feature or features (e.g., an organ, tumor, tumor bed, gland,critical anatomical structure, or other lesion) within a patientundergoing a medical procedure such as radiotherapy, radiotherapyplanning, image-guided surgery, or other treatment includes obtaining athree dimensional image of a region that includes the feature beingtreated and determining the location of the feature within the region.The three dimensional image is obtained at a first periodicity (e.g.,every 30 seconds) as to reduce the processing and storage burdens ascompared to higher frequencies. In between each three dimensional image,a series of temporally-displaced targeted subsets of ultrasound imagesfocused on the region are obtained at a greater periodicity (e.g., every0.1-3 seconds), and each is compared with the three dimensional image todetermine if there has been any changes to the feature (e.g., movement,morphing). To reduce processing and memory requirements, the targetedsubsets are typically of lower quality, resolution and/or represent asmaller area of the region than that of the three dimensional images,thereby allowing for more frequent imaging and comparisons. In somepreferred embodiments the target subsets are planes of ultrasound datarather than a full reconstructed 3D volume.

In some cases, a determination is made as to whether the displacementexceeds a displacement threshold (such as an upper limit of spatialdisplacement of the feature of interest) and if so, an updated threedimensional image of the region of interest is obtained sooner thanwould be obtained according to the first periodicity. The updated threedimensional image maybe used for subsequent comparisons with thetargeted set of ultrasound images. In addition (or alternatively) adetermination is made as to whether the displacement exceeds a safetythreshold and if so, the medical procedure is halted to allow for one ormore adjustments to the patient's orientation with respect to atreatment device. In certain implementations, one or more treatmentapparatus (e.g., a treatment couch on which the patient is supportedand/or a multi-leaf collimator for administering radiation therapy) maybe continuously adjusted while treatment is being delivered tocompensate for the displacement.

In some embodiments, image parameters used in obtaining the targetedsubset of ultrasound images are adjusted based on the displacement. Thedisplacement threshold may be an upper limit on spatial displacement ofthe feature or exceeding some predefined change in size. The comparisonmay, in some cases, include comparing grey-scale values of subsequentimages to determine the displacement or shift of the feature.

The targeted subset may be a series of two dimensional image slices ofthe feature, a combination of two or more tracking planes (such as twoorthogonal planes), which may, in some cases, be reconstructed as a setof voxels intersecting the planes. The images may be used as obtained,or, in some cases segmented. The images may be obtained from variousangles and directions aimed at the feature, including, for exampletransperineally in the case of a prostate gland. In certainimplementations, the targeted subset may be three dimensional ultrasounddatasets related to a limited region of interest, which may bedetermined on an adjusted sector size, an adjusted image depth and/or anadjusted ultrasound sector angle and in some cases have a reducedresolution.

The three dimensional ultrasound images may be obtained using amotorized probe, a bi-planar probe or a matrix probe, any of which maybe internal or external to the patient. In some instances, the probe mayhave traceable markers attached to it and be calibrated to pixels withinthe images to facilitate spatial tracking over time with respect to aparticular coordinate system.

The feature to be tracked can be the target lesion being treated, asubset of the lesion, another feature which is proximal to the lesion, afiducial, or any other feature deemed to be of importance during themedical procedure. Features may be extracted from both fullthree-dimensional ultrasound images as well as the targeted subset ofultrasound images to obtain a representation of the feature's motion intime, using either segmentation or pattern recognition algorithms.

In another aspect, a system for tracking an anatomical feature within apatient undergoing a medical procedure includes a processor and a memoryregister. The processor is configured to locate the feature of interestwithin a series of three dimensional images and iteratively comparetemporally displaced targeted subsets of ultrasound images obtained at aperiodicity greater than the first periodicity with the threedimensional image. The processor then determines, based on eachcomparison, a displacement of the feature of interest. The registerreceives and stores the images.

In some versions, the processor determines if the displacement exceeds adisplacement threshold (an upper limit of spatial displacement of thefeature of interest, for example) and if so, provide instructions toobtain an updated three dimensional image of the region of interestsooner than would be obtained based on the first periodicity. Theprocessor may also determine if the displacement exceeds a safetythreshold. If so, the processor can provide instructions to halt themedical procedure, thereby allowing for adjustments to be made to thepatient's orientation with respect to a treatment device and/or to theorientation of the treatment device itself prior to reinstating theprocedure.

In some cases, the system also includes an ultrasound probe forproviding the images to the register. The probe may be a two dimensionalultrasound probe rotatably mounted into a housing such that the probecan move according to at least one degree of freedom, eitherlongitudinally, in a sweeping motion about an axis or rotating about anaxis. A motor may provide movement to the probe, based, for example, oninstructions from a controller to alter the position of the proberelative to the patient, the housing or both. The controller may alsoprovide additional adjustments to one or more imaging parameters. Someembodiments may also provide a display and/or input devices, thusallowing an operator to view the images and interact with the system.

Changes identified in the feature may trigger a warning message (eithervisual, textual, audio or some combination thereof), warning theoperator that the medical procedure should be modified. In otherimplementations, the changes may cause continuous or semi-continuousmodifications to the treatment as it progresses.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to the sameparts throughout the different views. Also, the drawings are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead generally being placed uponillustrating the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the use of a mechanicalthree-dimensional probe, referenced to a room coordinate system, forimaging a feature within a patient according to various embodiments ofthe invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow-chart illustrating a method for implementing a hybridthree-dimensional and two-dimensional temporal tracking strategyaccording to various embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a flow-chart illustrating a particular implementation of ahybrid three-dimensional and multiple two-dimensional plane temporaltracking strategy according to various embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 3A illustrates a particular implementation of a hybridthree-dimensional and multiple two-dimensional plane temporal trackingtechnique according to various embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates the use of tracking planes in the method of FIGS. 2and 3.

FIG. 5 is a flow-chart illustrating a particular implementation of ahybrid three-dimensional and limited ROI three-dimensional temporaltracking strategy according to various embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates a particular implementation of a hybridthree-dimensional and multiple two-dimensional plane temporal trackingin which the image extent encompassing the feature being treated isreduced according to various embodiments of the invention

FIG. 7 illustrates a system for tracking intrafractional motion duringthe course of radiotherapy according to various embodiments of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Throughout the following descriptions and examples, aspects andembodiments of the invention are described in the context of trackingintrafractional motion during the delivery of radiotherapy. However, itis to be understood that the present invention may be applied totracking attributes of virtually any feature within or on a patientduring any form of medical procedure requiring anatomical tracking, suchas external beam and brachytherapy, cryotherapy, hyperthermia, highintensity focused ultrasound treatments (HIFU)) and/or various forms ofimaging (e.g., CT, 4DCT, PET, US, SPECT, and MRI).

Referring to FIG. 1, a motorized, mechanically sweepingthree-dimensional ultrasound probe 100, which is of particular use inthis application, contains a two-dimensional probe inside of a housing,the two-dimensional probe being able to sweep at different angles withinthe housing, controlled by a motor. In certain applications, trackingmarkers 105 are affixed to the probe handle such that the position ofthe probe can be detected by a tracking system 110. One such trackingdevice utilizes an infrared optical camera, which tracks infraredsignals emitted from or reflected by the markers. The position andorientation of the probe housing can therefore be determined at alltimes, based on a relative coordinate system. In certain applications,the individual ultrasound pixels are referenced to a coordinate systemuseful for the medical procedure, which can for example be tied to room,a treatment device, an imaging device, or a patient.

Because the motorized sweeping probe is essentially a two-dimensionalprobe that moves according to a particular degree of freedom inside thehousing, its position within the housing can be quantified in terms of aparameter X. The parameter X can be measured as an angle in the case ofrotational sweep inside the housing, or as a distance in the case of alinear sweep. The parameter X can be controlled by a controller thoughan interface to the motor. For example, the controller may instruct themotor to move the two-dimensional probe to a particular location withinthe housing such that a two-dimensional frame can be acquired at a fixedposition X In other cases, the controller may instruct the motor tocontinuously move probe within the housing, facilitating the acquisitionof a three-dimensional sweep by acquiring a series oftemporally-displaced image frames while continuously changing X.

In some applications, pixels in a given two-dimensional frame atposition X are known relative to a fixed room coordinate system. Onemethod of attributing coordinates to the pixels is to use a calibrationalgorithm similar to those developed for freehand 3DUS imaging, butusing a fixed X=X_(cal), which relates all pixels in a “calibrationslice” to the probe markers and hence to the room coordinate system.Known geometry of the three-dimensional probe can then be used to relatethis calibration to the slices with other X values.

Calibration may also be achieved by temporarily affixing thethree-dimensional probe to a phantom having embedded geometricalfeatures. In such cases, a CT scan of the probe and phantom assembly isacquired, and then a three-dimensional sweep is acquired with the probestill fixed relative to the phantom. The 3DUS images are alignedrelative to the CT scan using software that allows rotations andtranslations of the images such that the geometrical features visible inthe 3DUS images match those as seen on CT. In some cases, segmentedfeatures extracted from the CT may be used instead of the CT pixelvalues themselves. The markers affixed to the probe handle are alsovisible on CT, and thus a relationship between the 3DUS pixels and themarkers can be quantified, thus allowing each 3DUS pixel to be knownrelative to the markers. The pixels can then be referred back to theroom coordinate system using known techniques used in the art forfreehand 3DUS imaging.

For intrafractional tracking of a structure or anatomical feature, theprobe is placed on the patient 115 prior to treatment such that thetarget 120 is within the field of view of the probe. The technique maybe used, for example, for transperineal imaging of the prostate, orimaging of a breast tumor. A full three-dimensional image of the targetstructure 120 and its surrounding anatomy is acquired by continuouslyvarying X, during which the ultrasound images are acquired at a givenframe-rate f The frame-rate is primarily limited by ultrasound physicssuch as the time needed to send and receive a sound wave, but also maybe limited by hardware and computer processing constraints. A typicalframe-rate is on the order of 20 Hz. As described above, the pixels ineach frame at a known X can be attributed to certain coordinates in theroom coordinate system, and therefore the two-dimensional slices can beused to a “reconstructed” 3DUS volume in reference to the roomcoordinate system.

Prior to radiotherapy, the patient is typically placed on the treatmenttable according to skin markings. Correction for interfractional motioncan then be performed by imaging of the target or a proximal feature andadjusting the patient's position relative to the room coordinate systemeither by moving the patient, the couch, or both. This corrects fordaily setup errors as well as changes in the anatomy since the treatmentplanning phase, and can be done with any number of known IGRTtechniques. In some cases, this process may be accomplished by acquiringa first three-dimensional sweep of the target structure with themechanized probe. Typically, the patient couch is moved to correct forinitial target misalignments, although other strategies can be used suchas modifying the treatment plan. However, this initial interfractionalcorrection does not account for motion during the treatment itself(intrafractional motion), as addressed below.

After initial patient setup, successive temporally-displacedthree-dimensional sweeps of the target structure, or more generally ofanatomical features related to or near the target structure or otherarea of interest, can be acquired using the mechanized probe.Displacement of the feature or features in each successive imagerelative to previous images can then be determined. In one method, adifference in the grayscale between the images is quantified, or, inother cases, a segmentation algorithm is used to recontour the featuresin each image and the displacement between successive segmentations isdetermined. One or more treatment parameters may then be modified as thefeature changes location or form. These modifications can be, but arenot limited to: warning the operator that the feature has moved outsidea given tolerance and instructing her to halt treatment and repositionthe patient; automatically halting the treatment beam by synchronizingwith the linear accelerator if the feature moves past a given tolerance;correcting for the displacement by automatically adjusting the couch,and then turning on the beam again; iteratively adjusting the beam (forexample, by moving the couch, the beam, or both) as the linearaccelerator is turned off and on; and/or continuously changing the beamshapes or alignment in synchrony with newly updated feature positions.In some cases, no modification is instituted if the feature has notchanged or the changes are within allowable tolerances.

Although successive acquisition of three-dimensional images may beuseful, the images are not truly real-time because of the time delayinherent in the “sweep” process. More specifically, the sweepingtechnique includes varying X during the sweep to acquire enough framesfor reconstruction without gaps between the frames, which is limited bythe frame-rate of the ultrasound (which itself is limited by ultrasoundphysics), creating a full three-dimensional reconstruction of thetwo-dimensional slices into a full three-dimensional ultrasound volume,and calculation of a representation of the feature from the images.

Strategy 1: Hybrid three-dimensional and two-dimensional temporaltracking.

One approach to using ultrasound for real-time treatment monitoring usestargeted subsets of three-dimensional ultrasound images (“TUS”), and isillustrated in FIG. 2. In step 200, a full three-dimensional sweep ofthe patient's anatomy, including the feature to be tracked, is acquiredby continuously (or in many small discrete steps) varying X to acquire afull set of two-dimensional slices. The two-dimensional slices are thenreconstructed in the room coordinate system, using each taggedX-position of the slices as well as the tracking camera information andcalibration information, to form a 3DUS image.

In step 205, the three-dimensional feature is located in the 3DUS image.This feature is referred to herein as the three-dimensional feature, asit is determined from a three-dimensional image, as opposed to a featurein a two-dimensional slice image, which is referred to as atwo-dimensional feature. The location can be determined manually,semi-automatically, or fully automatically. For example, athree-dimensional pattern recognition algorithm may be used, or in thecase of imaging a prostate, the user can place one or more “hint points”(i.e., one point in the center or 4-8 points on the prostate edges), toinitiate a segmentation algorithm which then determines the fullprostate surface in three dimensions. Alternatively, a contour from aplanning session can be superimposed onto the three-dimensional image asan initial guess, and potentially warped to better fit the edges in thecurrent image.

In step 210, the treatment is modified to account for the currentposition of the feature as found in step 205. This can be accomplished,for example, by moving the couch to align the feature (either manuallyor automatically) if the feature does not significantly change volume orshape. The beam may be temporarily stopped in some cases to allow forthe couch motion. Other strategies may include completely recalculatingthe treatment plan, or re-shaping the beam apertures to better targetthe feature.

In step 215, the X-position of the motorized probe is moved to a fixedposition such that the two-dimensional ultrasound slice is optimallyaimed at the feature. For example, if the feature is an organ such asthe prostate or a breast lumpectomy cavity, which has been segmented,the beam can be aimed at the center of the structure. The optimal slicecan alternatively be selected based on feature discernibility statisticsextracted from the three-dimensional image at step 205. In step 220, atwo-dimensional ultrasound slice is acquired at this fixed X-position,which is targeted at the feature, and in step 225 the two-dimensionalfeature is located in this ultrasound slice. In step 230, if size, shapeand/or locational characteristics of the feature have not changed sincestep 205, another two-dimensional acquisition and feature location isexecuted (step 235). The process is then repeated until changes in thetwo-dimensional feature are identified.

A change may include, for example, that the feature has moved outside ofthe two-dimensional plane, which would result in a significant change inthe grayscale values in the region of interest surrounding the feature.The change may also be due to movement of the feature within thetwo-dimensional plane by an amount greater than a pre-determinedthreshold, or that the feature has changed shape greater than apredetermined threshold. For prostate imaging, the two-dimensional planeis typically aligned with the sagittal plane which can detectanterior/posterior and superior/inferior motions, which are the mostcommon, with left-to-right motions being much less common. An acceptablethreshold may be 2 mm, meaning so long as the prostate center moves byless than 2 mm, step 235 is continued. If the displacement is greaterthan 2 mm (or some other threshold), the process moves to step 240.Another reason to transition to step 240 is if that the two-dimensionalprostate area changes significantly from one frame to the next, whichimplies that the prostate has moved out-of-plane—either to the right orleft. In some applications, the location, alignment and/or orientationof the probe may be altered by a robotic arm into which the probe isplaced.

At step 240, a new full 3DUS sweep is initiated, and the process isrepeated. The entire flowchart loop is continued until the treatment iscompleted. Using this methodology, three-dimensional acquisition istriggered if motion is detected based on two-dimensional imageacquisitions, which, due to the lower processing demands, allows forreal-time monitoring. As such, a full three-dimensional adaptation ofthe treatment is triggered only if it appears that the feature has movedout of tolerance. In some embodiments, step 240 is initiated not only ifthe feature has likely moved out of tolerance, but also at regulartemporal intervals (e.g., every fifteen seconds) as an extra check.

This approach may be used in applications when movement has a highlikelihood to be in a particular two-dimensional plane chosen by theorientation of the motorized probe. In some variations, when thislikelihood is high, modification of the treatment can be added as a stepbetween 225 and 230 such that the two-dimensional tracking info is usedto identify treatment modifications in real-time.

Strategy 2: Hybrid three-dimensional and multiple two-dimensional planetemporal tracking.

In some applications in which the motion is not likely to be primarilyconstrained to a particular two-dimensional plane, a hybrid ofthree-dimensional and multiple two-dimensional plane temporal trackingtechniques may be used. Referring to FIG. 3, steps 300, 310 and 315 arethe same as 200, 210 and 215 of FIG. 2, respectively. In step 320, afull sweep is acquired by the motorized probe. In step 325, instead ofreconstructing the entire three-dimensional image set, only the pixelsin two or more tracking planes, preferably being orthogonal or close toorthogonal to each other, are reconstructed. An example is shown in FIG.4, showing tracking planes 200 and 205 being used for reconstruction.

The planes are selected so as to intersect with the feature 120. In thecase of an organ such as the prostate, the planes preferably intersectthrough the center of the organ, which can be found from computing thecentroid of the segmented structure. As used herein, “reconstructedultrasound plane” refers to a reconstruction of a voxel set attached toa single plane, as opposed to a complete three-dimensionalreconstruction that reconstructs the entire 3D voxel set. While limitingthe information available to only certain planes, the computationalrequirements to produce only the reconstructed ultrasound plane(s) aresignificantly lower. As such, step 325 saves time and memory space,since it is much quicker and more efficient to reconstruct pixels inplanes than an entire voxel space, as well as locate changes infeatures, thus reducing temporal intervals between successivelocalizations. In some cases, one of the tracking planes is not areconstructed plane, but consists of the pixels from an actualtwo-dimensional ultrasound image from a fixed position (at oneparticular X location) of the motorized probe, as described above inreference to FIG. 2.

In other applications, none of the tracking planes are reconstructed,but consist of pixels from multiple two-dimensional ultrasound imagesobtained from different positions of the motorized probe along the Xplane. For example, as shown in FIG. 3A, three plane positions can beselected, at positions X₁ (in the center of the feature), X₂ (to theleft of center but still imaging part of the feature) and X₃, (to theright of center but still imaging part of the feature). The probe canthen obtain images at each of these positions in rapid succession in anyconvenient order without need for reconstruction. The X positionsrelative to the center of the feature can be strategically determinedbased, for example, on knowledge of the three-dimensional surface of thefeature.

Referring back to FIG. 3, in step 330, the three-dimensional feature islocated in the tracking planes, creating a three-dimensional surface,that when intersected by a plane, produces a two-dimensional curve. Inone method, the shape and volume of the three-dimensional feature, asfound in the first iteration of step 310, is assumed to remain constant.By determining where the two-dimensional curves generated by cuttingthrough the tracking planes best fit the grayscale values yields thedesired three-dimensional location of the surface, and thus displacementof the feature relative to its position at the previous point in time.“Best fit” can mean, for example, maximization of the sum of imagegradients along the curves.

Finding the location of the three-dimensional feature from the trackingplanes assumes that at least part of the feature is visible in at leasttwo planes, and increasing the number of planes (e.g., from two tothree, or even higher), increases the likelihood that the feature isvisible. In some cases, the feature may move to a position where it isno longer visible, as determined at step 335. This determination can bemade based on a failure of the process at step 330, for example. If,however, the feature remains visible in one or more of the planes, thetreatment is modified to account for the new position (step 340) andacquisition of tracking plane data continues (step 345) to make furtheradjustments. The position of the tracking planes in 325 may bere-centered to account for the displaced feature found in 330. In thecase where feature is no longer in the planes, the full 3DUS volume isreconstructed (step 350). This allows for re-centering of the trackingplanes for further iterations, and to ensure that the tracking planesintersect the feature being tracked. The process illustrated in FIG. 3ends once the treatment is complete (step 355). In some variations, path350 will be taken even if the feature is still intersected by thetracking planes, at fixed time intervals in order to gather fullthree-dimensional data at various points in time.

Using this approach, the full three-dimensional displacement can becalculated as long the tracking planes intersect with the feature, thusreducing the number of times the full three-dimensional image needs tobe reconstructed. In contrast to the hybrid three-dimensional andtwo-dimensional temporal tracking approach, the use of two-dimensionalplanes allows much faster monitoring of the feature because it does notnecessitate full sweeps on the structure, even if a fullthree-dimensional image is reconstructed any time there is a significantchange in the feature.

Strategy 3: Hybrid three-dimensional and low-resolutionthree-dimensional temporal tracking.

In another approach, a series of alternating high (fullthree-dimensional) and low resolution (“targeted”), ultrasound sweepsare used to track the volume and followed with full volumereconstruction. Reducing the resolution allows for faster sweeps, butdue to the limited frame-rate of the ultrasound, fewer two-dimensionalslices are acquired for the reconstruction. For example, the highresolution three-dimensional images may be acquired at a periodicity ofevery thirty seconds, whereas the lower resolution images are obtainedevery 0.1-3 seconds. A new high-resolution image is captured for everyperiod, unless the comparison between the high-resolution andlow-resolution images indicated the violation of a displacementthreshold, in which case a new high-resolution image is obtained soonerthan would have been taken otherwise. In some cases, the displacementmay be sufficient to halt treatment altogether and adjust the patient,the treatment device or both.

Strategy 4: Hybrid three-dimensional and limited ROI three-dimensionaltemporal tracking.

FIG. 5 illustrates an alternative approach. Steps 500-515 are the sameas steps 200-215 of FIG. 2, respectively. In step 520, the region ofinterest (ROI) of the three-dimensional volume is reduced such that itencompasses only the feature plus a limited amount of surroundingvoxels. This is accomplished by limiting the sector size of thetwo-dimensional ultrasound frames throughout the sweep, in some casesasymmetrically, as well as the depth of penetration. Referring to FIG. 6as an example, the full sector size and depth, leading to image extent600, are reduced to form the image extent 605 which encompasses thefeature 610 with a small amount of padding. Reducing sector size and/ordepth increases the frame-rate, which allows for faster sweeping motionwhile still acquiring sufficient slices for high resolutionthree-dimensional image reconstruction. The range of X values for thesweeping motion can also be limited, which increases thethree-dimensional image acquisition as well. Many more temporalthree-dimensional images can be acquired, but due to the smaller region,the risk that the feature moves outside of the limited ROI increases.

Returning to FIG. 5, the limited three-dimensional ROI is reconstructed(step 525), and due to the smaller number of voxels, the speed of thereconstruction process is increased and the memory requirements arereduced as compared to a full three-dimensional reconstruction. In step530, the location of the three-dimensional feature within the limitedROI is determined. In step 535, if the feature has remained in thelimited ROI, step 545 is executed, continuing the tracking of thefeature within the limited ROI. The ROI can be re-modified in step 520to account for any new positioning of the feature. If the feature is nolonger within the limited ROI, or getting too close to a boundary, thenstep 550 allows for a full ROI reconstruction prior to limiting the ROIagain for further tracking. In some cases, full ROI sweeps are alsoacquired at various time intervals. The loop ends when treatment iscomplete, as represented by step 555.

Strategy 5: Hybrid three-dimensional and multiple two-dimensional planetemporal tracking with reduced sector size

In another approach, two tracking planes are used—the first plane is apure two-dimensional ultrasound at a fixed X position of the motorizedprobe as described above (the X position can be adjusted to include thetracked feature as its position is updated), and the second plane is areconstructed plane which is orthogonal or near-orthogonal to the firstplane. The ultrasound data in the second plane is acquired with a verysmall sector size, ideally approaching zero, so that the sweep can beperformed quickly. In some variations, the sector size is very smallduring most of the sweep, is rapidly increased as the sweep crossesthrough X of the pure ultrasound plane, then reduced quickly again tocomplete the acquisition of reconstructed plane.

Locating an anatomical feature according to one or more of the methodsdescried above can be performed by drawing a structure (either manually,semi-automatically, or automatically) in a first image. This first imagecan, for example, be an image from a previous planning session, aprevious treatment session, or an image obtained for a firstinterfractional motion correction prior to tracking. In mostapplications of interest, the structure being tracked does not changeshape while the patient is on the table. Thus, the original structurecan be moved from image to image, keeping its shape intact, so that itbest-fits each image. The amount the structure is moved within an imageprovides a distance the feature has travelled between each successiveimage. If image acquisition is fast enough, motion between successiveimages is small and easier to track. This applies to bothtwo-dimensional contours in planes as well as three-dimensionalcontours.

Although the specific applications above utilize a mechanizedthree-dimensional probe, other types of three-dimensional probes can beused as well. For example, matrix probes, which consist of atwo-dimensional surface of piezoelectric elements, can acquire fullthree-dimensional ultrasound datasets. Bi-planar probes, which cansimultaneously acquire two perpendicular slices of two-dimensionalultrasound data, can also be used in some embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 7, a system 700 for performing the techniquesdescribed above includes a register 705 or other volatile ornon-volatile storage device that receives image data from the ultrasoundimaging probe(s) 710 and/or 715 via a cord or wire, or in someembodiments via wireless communications. The system also includes aprocessor 720 that, based on the image data, uses the techniquesdescribed above to create three-dimensional, time-based images of theregion of interest and determine if the feature being treated has movedand/or morphed such that the displacement or changes in shape or sizerequire adjustments to image parameters used to capture subsequentimages. The processor calculates any necessary adjustments and, in somecases, provides updated imaging parameters to a controller 730. Thecontroller 730 directs the probe(s) 710 and/or 715 to implement theadjustments either mechanically (e.g., by changing the physical locationof the probe within its housing or implementing positional adjustmentsdirectly or using a brace, arm or other support device) orelectronically (e.g., by altering the power delivered to the probesand/or frequency of the ultrasound energy). As such, the feature remainsin the region being imaged throughout the entire imaging and treatmentprocess.

In some embodiments, a display 735 and an associated user interface mayalso be included, thus allowing a user to view and manipulate the imagesand/or treatment parameters. The display 735 and user interface can beprovided as one integral unit (as shown) or separate units and may alsoinclude one or more user input devices such as a keyboard and/or mouse.The display can be passive (e.g., a “dumb” CRT or LCD screen) or in somecases interactive, facilitating direct user interaction with the imagesand models through touch-screens (using, for example, the physician'sfinger as an input device) and/or various other input devices such as astylus, light pen, or pointer. The display 735 and input devices may bein location different from that of the register 705 and/or processor720, thus allowing users to receive, view, and manipulate images inremote locations using, for example, wireless devices, handheld personaldata assistants, notebook computers, among others.

In various embodiments the register and/or processor may be provided aseither software, hardware, or some combination thereof. For example, thesystem may be implemented on one or more server-class computers, such asa PC having a CPU board containing one or more processors such as thePentium or Celeron family of processors manufactured by IntelCorporation of Santa Clara, Calif., the 680x0 and POWER PC family ofprocessors manufactured by Motorola Corporation of Schaumburg, Ill.,and/or the ATHLON line of processors manufactured by Advanced MicroDevices, Inc., of Sunnyvale, Calif. The processor may also include amain memory unit for storing programs and/or data relating to themethods described above. The memory may include random access memory(RAM), read only memory (ROM), and/or FLASH memory residing on commonlyavailable hardware such as one or more application specific integratedcircuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), electricallyerasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROM), programmableread-only memories (PROM), programmable logic devices (PLD), orread-only memory devices (ROM). In some embodiments, the programs may beprovided using external RAM and/or ROM such as optical disks, magneticdisks, as well as other commonly storage devices.

For embodiments in which the invention is provided as a softwareprogram, the program may be written in any one of a number of high levellanguages such as FORTRAN, PASCAL, JAVA, C, C++, C#, LISP, PERL, BASICor any suitable programming language. Additionally, the software can beimplemented in an assembly language and/or machine language directed tothe microprocessor resident on a target device.

It will therefore be seen that the foregoing represents an improvedmethod and supporting system for tracking features over the course of amedical procedure. The terms and expressions employed herein are used asterms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention,in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalentsof the features shown and described or portions thereof, but it isrecognized that various modifications are possible within the scope ofthe invention claimed. Moreover, although the above-listed text anddrawings contain titles headings, it is to be understood that thesetitle and headings do not, and are not intended to limit the presentinvention, but rather, they serve merely as titles and headings ofconvenience.

1. A method of using a processor circuit executing a plurality ofcomputer-executable instructions for monitoring one or more anatomicalfeatures of a patient, comprising: controlling an ultrasound imagingprobe to acquire first three-dimensional image data including a firstthree-dimensional image of a volume of interest including an anatomicalfeature; reducing a size of the volume of interest from a first size toa second size to encompass only the anatomical feature plus a specifiedamount of surrounding voxels; reconstructing a second three-dimensionalimage of the reduced size volume of interest having the second size;determining whether the anatomical feature is present in the secondthree-dimensional image; in response to determining that the anatomicalfeature is not present in the second three-dimensional image or is closeto a boundary in the second three-dimensional image, controlling theultrasound imaging probe to acquire second three-dimensional image dataincluding a third three-dimensional image of the volume of interesthaving the first size; and in response to determining that theanatomical feature is present in the second three-dimensional image,modifying a radiotherapy treatment plan to compensate for a location ofthe anatomical feature.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein reducing thesize of the volume of interest comprises limiting a sector size oftwo-dimensional ultrasound frames through an ultrasound sweep.
 3. Themethod of claim 2, wherein the sector size is limited asymmetrically orbased on a depth of penetration.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereinreducing the size of the volume of interest increases a frame-rate andsweeping motion speed while maintaining a sufficient number of slicesfor reconstructing the three-dimensional image.
 5. The method of claim1, wherein the second three-dimensional image data is acquired atspecified time intervals.
 6. A system for controlling an ultrasoundimaging probe to monitor an anatomical feature of a patient, comprising:a memory circuit for storing instructions and image data; and aprocessor circuit for executing the instructions to perform operationscomprising: controlling an ultrasound imaging probe to acquire firstthree-dimensional image data including a first three-dimensional imageof a volume of interest including an anatomical feature; reducing a sizeof the volume of interest from a first size to a second size toencompass only the anatomical feature plus a specified amount ofsurrounding voxels; reconstructing a second three-dimensional image ofthe reduced size volume of interest having the second size; determiningwhether the anatomical feature is present in the secondthree-dimensional image; in response to determining that the anatomicalfeature is not present in the second three-dimensional image or is closeto a boundary in the second three-dimensional image, controlling theultrasound imaging probe to acquire second three-dimensional image dataincluding a third three-dimensional image of the volume of interesthaving the first size; and in response to determining that theanatomical feature is present in the second three-dimensional image,modifying a radiotherapy treatment plan to compensate for a location ofthe anatomical feature.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein reducing thesize of the volume of interest comprises limiting a sector size oftwo-dimensional ultrasound frames through an ultrasound sweep.
 8. Thesystem of claim 7, wherein the sector size is limited asymmetrically orbased on a depth of penetration.
 9. The system of claim 6, whereinreducing the size of the volume of interest increases a frame-rate andsweeping motion speed while maintaining a sufficient number of slicesfor reconstructing the three-dimensional image.
 10. The system of claim6, wherein the second three-dimensional image data is acquired atspecified time intervals.
 11. A method of using a processor circuitexecuting a plurality of computer-executable instructions for monitoringone or more anatomical features of a patient, comprising: controlling anultrasound imaging probe to acquire first three-dimensional image dataincluding a first three-dimensional image of a volume of interestincluding an anatomical feature; reconstructing image data in two ormore tracking planes based on the first three-dimensional image of thevolume of interest; locating a three-dimensional feature, correspondingto the anatomical feature, within the reconstructed image data in thetwo or more tracking planes; determining whether the three-dimensionalfeature intersects at least one of the two or more tracking planes todetermine displacement of the three-dimensional feature relative to aprevious point in time; in response to determining that thethree-dimensional feature fails to intersect at least one of the two ormore tracking planes, controlling the ultrasound imaging probe toacquire second three-dimensional image data including a secondthree-dimensional image of the volume of interest; and in response todetermining that the three-dimensional feature intersects at least oneof the two or more tracking planes, modifying a radiotherapy treatmentplan to compensate for a location of the three-dimensional feature. 12.The method of claim 11, wherein the two or more tracking planes areorthogonal to each other.
 13. The method of claim 11, further comprisingcontrolling the ultrasound imaging probe to acquire a two-dimensionalimage along a third tracking plane position that intersects a region ofthe three-dimensional feature.
 14. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising obtaining pixels from multiple two-dimensional imagesobtained from different plane positions of the ultrasound imaging probeinstead of reconstructing the image data based on the firstthree-dimensional image.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein thedifferent plane positions include three plane positions, a first of thethree plane positions selected to pass through a center of thethree-dimensional feature, a second of the three plane positionsselected to pass through a first side left of the center of thethree-dimensional feature, and a third of the three plane positionsselected to pass through a second side right of the center of thethree-dimensional feature.
 16. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising producing a two-dimensional curve based on an intersection offirst and second planes of the two or more tracking planes and thethree-dimensional feature.
 17. The method of claim 11, wherein locatingthe three-dimensional feature comprises determining that thethree-dimensional feature is visible in the two or more tracking planes.18. The method of claim 11, further comprising re-centering a positionof the two or more tracking planes based on determining displacement ofthe three-dimensional feature relative to a previous point in time. 19.A system for controlling an ultrasound imaging probe to monitor ananatomical feature of a patient, comprising: a memory circuit forstoring instructions and image data; and a processor circuit forexecuting the instructions to perform operations comprising: controllingan ultrasound imaging probe to acquire first three-dimensional imagedata including a first three-dimensional image of a volume of interestincluding an anatomical feature; reconstructing image data in two ormore tracking planes based on the first three-dimensional image of thevolume of interest; locating a three-dimensional feature, correspondingto the anatomical feature, within the reconstructed image data in thetwo or more tracking planes; determining whether the three-dimensionalfeature intersects at least one of the two or more tracking planes todetermine displacement of the three-dimensional feature relative to aprevious point in time; in response to determining that thethree-dimensional feature fails to intersect at least one of the two ormore tracking planes, controlling the ultrasound imaging probe toacquire second three-dimensional image data including a secondthree-dimensional image of the volume of interest; and in response todetermining that the three-dimensional feature intersects at least oneof the two or more tracking planes, modifying a radiotherapy treatmentplan to compensate for a location of the three-dimensional feature. 20.The system of claim 19, wherein the two or more tracking planes areorthogonal to each other.
 21. The system of claim 19, further comprisingcontrolling the ultrasound imaging probe to acquire a two-dimensionalimage along a third tracking plane position that intersects a region ofthe three-dimensional feature.
 22. The system of claim 19, furthercomprising obtaining pixels from multiple two-dimensional imagesobtained from different plane positions of the ultrasound imaging probeinstead of reconstructing the image data based on the firstthree-dimensional image.
 23. The system of claim 22, wherein thedifferent plane positions include three plane positions, a first of thethree plane positions selected to pass through a center of thethree-dimensional feature, a second of the three plane positionsselected to pass through a first side left of the center of thethree-dimensional feature, and a third of the three plane positionsselected to pass through a second side right of the center of thethree-dimensional feature.